from statehouse news service.

State Agrees To $56 Mil Holyoke Home Settlement
The Baker administration has agreed to a $56 million deal to settle a class-action lawsuit related to the COVID-19 outbreak that took the lives of at least 76 veterans at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in 2020, and will soon ask the Legislature to appropriate the money for the settlement. The terms of the settlement, which must still be approved by the federal district court for Massachusetts, would cover veterans who lived at the state-run Holyoke home at any point between March 1, 2020 and June 23, 2020 and who became ill or died from COVID during that period. Estates of deceased veterans would receive at least $400,000 and veterans who contracted COVID but did not die would receive at least $10,000, the governor's office said. "The COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home was a terrible tragedy. While we know nothing can bring back those who were lost, we hope that this settlement brings a sense of closure to the loved ones of the veterans," Baker said in a statement.